The Knicks’ biggest move of the offseason could’ve been trading for Donovan Mitchell, but after that deal didn’t materialize, signing Jalen Brunson in free agency became the team’s move of the summer.
At long last, New York has a point guard. Read it again. In Brunson’s first few (unofficial) games in orange and blue, he gave fans another reason to be excited about the regular season. The point guard finished behind Barrett with 17.8 points per game and added 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 26 minutes. Brunson shot 49% from the floor and 46.2% from behind the arc.
During the preseason, it was strange to watch Brunson lead the offense. He picked up where he left off in Dallas by driving to the rim and making his presence known on the defensive end, although he stands at six-foot-one.
There have been questions about if Brunson will be able to succeed without playing with Luka Doncic, and questions about him being worth the four-year, $104 million deal that he signed. Based on how Brunson looked in the preseason, it shouldn’t take long for him to start to earn some respect as a Knick, which is a tough thing to do.
Brunson’s made his New York debut already, but expect the energy at MSG on Friday night to be at a whole different level for Jalen Brunson in the Knicks’ home-opener.
pic.twitter.com/5xSVPlyLYh
<p>— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/10/17/winners-losers-knicks-2022-preseason/2/"https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1581071815123898371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>October 14, 2022</a></p></blockquote>
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<h2>How far will RJ Barrett be able to lead the Knicks in 2022-23?</h2>
<p>The 22-year-old is entering his fourth season in the league, and 2022-23 is set to be his best one yet after he finished last season reaching his goal of averaging 20 points per game. It certainly helps that New York signed a true point guard in Jalen Brunson during free agency.</p>
<p>Barrett doesn’t have to worry about being hounded with questions about becoming a restricted free agent next summer. With his extension in the rearview mirror, his main focus will be on improving as a player and as the leader of New York.</p>
<p>If Barrett’s able to play at the level that Knicks fans have seen him play at, he could reach another goal of his — becoming an All-Star. The sky is the limit for RJ this season.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/10/17/winners-losers-knicks-2022-preseason/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The signing of the summer </a>
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move of the summer</a>.</p>
<p>At long last, New York has a point guard. Read it again. In Brunson’s first few (unofficial) games in orange and blue, he gave fans another reason to be excited about the regular season. The point guard finished behind Barrett with 17.8 points per game and added 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 26 minutes. Brunson shot 49% from the floor and 46.2% from behind the arc.</p>
<h2>Jalen Brunson will be the difference-maker for the Knicks this season</h2>
<p>During the preseason, it was strange to watch Brunson lead the offense. He picked up where he left off in Dallas by driving to the rim and making his presence known on the defensive end, although he stands at six-foot-one.</p>
<p>There have been questions about if Brunson will be able to succeed without playing with Luka Doncic, and questions about him being worth the four-year, $104 million deal that he signed. Based on how Brunson looked in the preseason, it shouldn’t take long for him to start to earn <em>some</em> respect as a Knick, which is a tough thing to do.</p>
<p>Brunson’s made his New York debut already, but expect the energy at MSG on Friday night to be at a whole different level for Jalen Brunson in the Knicks’ home-opener.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/10/17/winners-losers-knicks-2022-preseason/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Two other starters that impressed </a>
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re-signed him</a> to a four-year, $60 million deal in free agency. His presence down low will be especially crucial to New York this season, and when he’s out of the game, he has two solid back-ups in Isaiah Hartenstein and Jericho Sims.</p>
<p>Then, there’s Julius Randle, who’s coming off a rather disappointing season.</p>
<h2>Julius Randle looks like a new player for the Knicks after a down season</h2>
<p>Randle’s role this season will be significantly different than the one that he played in 2021-22. There isn’t a need for him to operate will the ball in his hands with both Barrett and Brunson in the lineup.</p>
<p>In the preseason, Randle looked like a new player. Instead of forcing shot after shot, he found his teammates for open (and better) looks. In four games, he recorded 17 assists and only four turnovers.</p>
<p>His best outing of the preseason came last Wednesday <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/10/17/winners-losers-knicks-2022-preseason/2/"https://twitter.com/nyknicks/status/1580338717662773254" target="_blank" rel="noopener">against Indiana</a> when he posted 13 points (5-for-10 from the floor, 3-for-6 from three), eight rebounds, and five assists in 25 minutes. It was the best that Randle has looked in a long, long time. Of course, it’s only the preseason, but based on how Randle looked, he could be in for a surprising regular season (in a good way).</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2022/10/17/winners-losers-knicks-2022-preseason/2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Two players fans wanted to see more from </a>
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this season</a> unless something changes.</p>
<h3>Should’ve been a winner: Immanuel Quickley</h3>
<p>It wouldn’t be right to label Immanuel Quickley as a preseason loser, but it’s fair to say that he could’ve played much better than he did. Quickley averaged 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists in 21 minutes while shooting 34% from the floor and 31.6% from three.</p>
<p>In the loss to Indiana, he shot 4-for-18 from the field and 2-for-7 from three for 12 points. Quickley showed strong flashes during the preseason, and unlike Reddish, his role isn’t up in the air. There also isn’t any reason to believe that Quickley will carry his preseason performance over to the regular season.</p>
<p>In less than 48 hours, we’ll get to see what the Knicks are all about. There’ll be some good, and some bad, but this team should record more than 37 wins in 2022-23.</p>
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